Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Theda Hill, Sue Riley's long time friend and friend of the Riley family sent me a package of pictures to scan and share.

There were great pictures which I will be sharing in the future. This picture is great:

Fortunately, it was labeled on the back, "My brother Harry". I know that Elizabeth Maybury Riley had a younger brother Harry. I really wonder what the circumstances of the three frames were. If she hadn't labeled it, we would have NEVER figured out who this was.This picture is why I am telling you to label your pictures:

This very fragile picture was included. Unfortunately, it was not labeled. I am sure either Elizabeth or Tom knew exactly who was in this picture and why the men were all wearing boutonnieres. There are so few pictures from the English Mayburys and Rileys, I cannot even match faces or a family with four boys and two girls.The lesson for all of us is to lightly label the back of our pictures. Someday, they will be looked at by your descendants and they will be much happier if they can identify the people.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Emma Louise Frieda Lisette Long (born 1867) and her sister, Anna F. Long (born 1871) both married Lutheran Pastors.

Emma married Ernst August Brueggemann in 1888. He had recently graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary. He came to Springfield from Cleveland, Ohio. He had several churches during his career but more about that later.

Carl Daniel Griese seems to have had a less direct route to the Church. He and Anna married in 1889 in Springfield. They were still in Springfield on the 1900 Census. He was 34 and his occupation was listed as Grocer (maybe working for her father???). By 1905 they were in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Census 1905) and his occupation is listed as Clergyman. Did he graduate from Seminary many years earlier and stayed in Springfield to work for her father? Did he have a calling later in life?

Saturday, November 27, 2010

By Feb. 4, 1918, all German males 14 and older in the United States who were not naturalized were required to register as alien enemies with local authorities. President Woodrow Wilson issued the proclamation in November 1917 as the United States entered World War I against Germany and its allies.

The German Alien Registration Act required that each "alien enemy" be issued a registration card, which was to be carried at all times. At their registration, they were photographed, fingerprinted and questioned about their personal habits. The government ordered them to get permission to travel or change residences.

Ohio later passed a law prohibiting teaching the German language in public schools. In Cincinnati, where 58 percent of residents were of German heritage, an ordinance was passed changing German street names. German-language books were removed from library shelves, one-third of the city's German-language newspapers folded and German teachers were fired.

On the eve of World War I, German-Americans were divided in the way they viewed the Kaiser. The majority were probably carried along by the wave of German nationalism, but the Kaiser also had his critics. Foremost among these were the Socialists, who were opposed on principle to militarism and who had been the target of oppressive anti-Socialist laws in Germany in the 1880s. German-American Catholics, like Catholics in Germany, could not forget the "Kulturkampf," the struggle between Bismarck and the Catholic Church. Missouri Synod Lutherans were also inclined to mistrust the imperial German government, which they vaguely associated with the liberal theology of Adolf von Harnack. To the pacifist American Mennonites there was nothing at all to be admired in the militaristic spirit that pervaded modern Germany. After all, the Mennonites, like the other Anabaptist sects, were strictly opposed to bearing arms and, having been persecuted for their faith, had few feelings of cultural attachment to Germany

It is my guess that it was a tough time for all Brueggemanns. I think it was particularly hard for Rev. Ernst August Brueggemann. At this time, he was a publisher of a German Language newspaper. From what I've been told, the paper folded and he was unemployed. I think it was at this time that he dropped the final "n" from Brueggemann. I know there was also some discord in the family about serving in the Army but I will cover this in another post. The war time must have been hard for all Americans but it must have been particularly hard for our German American ancestors.

Friday, November 26, 2010

All families have expressions that they use that others may not understand. Mom (Nori) reminded us of the origin of "Umm Gravy Ladle". We use it when something is particularly good, usually food. Of course, it came up at Thanksgiving Dinner. Judy was enjoying the meal very much. Mom said "Umm Gravy Ladle". The kids had heard the expression used but didin't know where it came from.

My Aunt Judy was at college and the doors to the dining room were closed and the students were waiting out side. One student, Charles, has a deep interest in food, given his appearance. He was straining to see what was for dinner through the cracks in the curtains. He spied gravy ladles on the tables and said, "Umm Gravy Ladles" with particular joy. Thus, a family expression was born.

I am sure your family has them too. Be sure to share the origins with the younger generations. Some expressions are born more recently. A couple in our family are "You're Cheeseing me" (for teasing) and "Moron of the Castle" (for village idot).

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A journeyman is a trader or crafter who has completed an apprenticeship. A journeyman was a craftsman who had fully learned his trade and earned money but was not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for judgment. If the work were deemed worthy, the journeyman would be admitted to the guild as a master. (Wikipedia).

Ezra Riley was listed on the 1851 Census and his 1853 Marriage Record as a Journeyman Blacksmith so he must have served an apprenticeship. I don't know if the Manchester Blacksmith Guild kept records or not on Apprenticeships. I would love to find out if he ever became a Master. A missing piece in this puzzle is the 1861 Census. We haven't been able to find a record of Ezra, Jane and their family yet. Wikipedia has some interesting info on the history of apprenticeships in England.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Unto St. Clem we do belong,
I know this house is well prepared
With plenty of money and good strong beer,
And we must drink before we part,
All for to cheer each merry heart.
Come all you Vulcans, strong and stout,
Unto St. Clem I pray turn out;
For now St. Clem's going round the town,
His coach and six goes merrily round.
Huzza, a, a."

I wonder if Ezra Riley celebrated St. Clement's Day on November 23 when he was a Blacksmith?

From Legendary Dartmoor: Saint Clement is also the patron saint of blacksmiths and traditionally members of the Worshipful Company and Guild of Blacksmith's would parade through towns on his saints day - November 23rd. In some places the smiths' would go from house to house collecting money, the 'kitty' would then be taken to the local inn for a day of celebration. It is thought that the tradition died out in the 1940's but has since seen a revival of sorts on Dartmoor.

Monday, November 22, 2010

I have learned from a recent flurry of research that any one program or subscription doesn't give you every thing you need. We had found Ezra Riley, new wife and family in Wales in the 1871 Census but the two sons, Thomas Roberts and Ezra were missing. Using Ancestry.Com, we weren't able to find them. Also, we could find NO RECORDS for Ezra and Jane in the 1861 Census.

I signed up for The Genealogist, a UK based web site, hoping it could help me solve these two issues. I hated to spend the money but I was desperate. Well... I found Thomas and Ezra! They were at a very small school (looks like there were fewer than 25 students) in Wales. I still couldn't find the family in 1861.

Last weekend I went to Family History Expo in Atlanta. I met with a professional genealogist who was very little help but she mentioned Find My Past. It is also a UK based web site. Fortunately, they offer a free 14 day trial. I made a list of people I wanted to check and have downloaded a bunch of things that I need to put into my Ancestry.com files.

So now to the great mystery...I still cannot find Ezra and Family in the 1861 Census but now I know why....
The records for Woolwich are missing! I had figured they might have been in Woolwich based on the place of birth of their last child. It doesn't make me happy that it's gone but I am so happy that I know the answer to why they can't be found

There are a number of enumeration books missing, or parts of enumeration books (usually missing start or finish), from the 1861 census. Below is a list of the books affected that we know of, both those missing in their entirety (M) and those which are incomplete (I) in the National Archives.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Rev. Ernst A. Brueggemann had his thesis published in 1904. Academic standards sure have changed since then as there are no footnotes or references, We have always wondered about about the size of the press run for this book as we have found or know of many copies.

The book in its entirety is available on Google Books if you would like to see it. It's amazing to me that a book published in 1904 by one of our relatives was scanned is now available to anyone who wants it.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Grace was the 17th most popular girl's name in the US in 2006, and the most popular (#1) name in the UK in 2007. It is also very popular as a middle name. To Christians, grace means free salvation from God. Grace is also the name of the prayer said before a meal. In Greek mythology, the three Graces were goddesses of charm, beauty, fertility, nature and creativity - they were normally Aglaia, Thalia and Euphrosyne.

It was a popular name in Ezra's (Riley) family.

He lived with his Aunt Grace Riley (born 1816) and was shown in her home in the 1841 and 1851 Census.

Grace had a brother, Ezra (born 1811) who had a daughter named Grace (born 1839). Brother Ezra and his family was also living with Grace in the 1841 Census. This Grace was also living with "our" Ezra's family in the 1871 Census in Wales.

"Our Ezra" and Jane Roberts Riley had a daughter, Grace (born in 1857). She was a milliner and lived with her father through the time of his death in 193. She never married.

Thomas Roberts Riley and Elizabeth Maybury Riley also had a daughter, Grace. Grace Amelia was born in 1894.

Friday, November 19, 2010

There are some conflicting sources on his year of birth. Some census records list it as about 1861. It is clear from the birth record that it was 1858.

Ezra was listed as a Journeyman Blacksmith. I think it is interesting that it took his mother, Jane, until December 23 to record his birth. I have been searching for his Christening info but have not been able to locate it. We're still looking for it. In fact, we haven't found Christening records for any of Ezra and Jane's children.

It amazes me that you can order a record from England on the Internet and you get back a piece of paper with a facsimile of the original from over 150 years ago. Having these original records really help to confirm the information from the Census Records. You also get information that you don't get elsewhere like the place of birth which usually the home address and the father's occupation.